Hawai'i and the world suffered a tremendous loss with the death of popular entertainer Don Ho on April 14, and The Advertiser responded with coverage that memorialized the iconic singer with the depth and respect he was due.

Reporter Robbie Dingeman received the tip at home about Ho on that Saturday morning and passed it along to those working on our city desk. Long before any other news organization became aware of it, we posted our first news bulletin about Ho's death on our Web site at 12:51 p.m. We kept the site updated throughout the day, including a tribute page that allowed readers to express their condolences. The pages quickly filled up.

Interest in the story was understandably high. On April 14, page views for Ho stories, photo galleries and videos totalled nearly 50,000. The following day, the number jumped to 78,000. Our two videos that day drew nearly 8,000 views.

Once we decided we wanted to create an instant commemorative section, the staff ramped up and produced eight pages of information, photos and graphics in just a few hours. Designer Christine Strobel took over the look of the section, copy editor Dave Koga wrote the main piece and reporters Will Hoover, Mary Vorsino, Mike Leidemann and Derrick DePledge gathered reaction. Editorial and Opinion Editor Jeanne Mariani-Belding drafted an editorial, solicited commentary from entertainer Jimmy Borges and asked cartoonist Dick Adair for a special illustration. Andrew Shimabuku and Rebecca Breyer provided photos.

But it was veteran entertainment writer Wayne Harada who carried not only the day but the next few weeks. Harada's 43 years at The Advertiser have coincided with Ho's rise to stardom, and few reporters in town have his institutional knowledge. Harada has covered every sort of story, but this was among the biggest of his career.

He worked his contacts, pulled together some pre-written biographical material and contributed mightily to the section that helped sell an extra 4,100 newspapers because of the great demand for information about Ho's history.

Harada's work so impressed the Ho family that they shared the first details of the memorial service and allowed him exclusive interviews with Hoku, Dondi and Dwight Ho. Their discussions were remarkably poignant and revealed the emotional depth of love for their father. The family obviously felt comfortable with Harada, who handled their emotions with grace and sensitivity. They allowed photographer Breyer to make their portraits and also to reproduce wonderful family photos that filled the section. Breyer also shot a video that drew nearly 6,000 views.

After helping us coordinate our coverage of the memorial on May 5, Harada got a chance to rest for the actual event. Reporters Dan Nakaso, Catherine Toth and Vorsino took over, with photographers Breyer, Joaquin Siopack and Shimabuku, for several pages of stories and photos of the special tribute.

We put up a special site online early Saturday with Harada's interviews with the three children, Breyer's video and a reader-submitted tribute page. Nakaso updated the site with breaking news from the service, including advice about parking. KGMB9 helped us with taped highlights of the memorial, and KHNL gave us a lift on their Chopper 8 helicopter so we could get aerial photos.

The event was such a big deal that we ran a live online video stream of the 3 1/2-hour concert, which included some of the state's most popular entertainers as well as Ho's children singing his signature songs. Readers accessed the streaming video about 2,500 times.

One Southern California reader appreciated the depth of our coverage.

"I would just like to say mahalo for the opportunity to see the videos via Internet from your online paper about the Don Ho aloha/farewell," the reader wrote. "Your news coverage, articles, photos and video presentations held an unprecedented interest in our household. We transplanted folks do keep up with the news and happenings in Hawai'i. The tribute to this special man and the mana'o he spread throughout the world was captured in your coverage."

A couple from Victoria, British Columbia, wrote Harada: "We followed the events of Saturday through your paper's Web site. It was truly a moving tribute to someone we dearly loved since the 1960s. Hawaiian style. It just doesn't get any better. Thanks for your first-class coverage."

Because of his extensive contacts, Harada received the tragic news of the death of Dayna Ho-Henry early on Friday, May 11, and The Advertiser posted the information first. Dwight Ho then called Harada with some thoughts from the family.

Despite his well-known name and long-running Show Biz column, Harada does not seek the spotlight. After I thanked him for his hard work, he responded in his typically humble way.

"I suppose it's the four decades of following Don, from an unknown budding entity, to the global icon he became, that helped initiate trust and access over the years," he said. "The one thing that came through, loud and clear, was the thanks and appreciation for all the positives we've reported on Don from way back."

After some initial hesitation to give interviews, the family decided it was Harada they trusted to tell Don Ho's story.

"The Ho family truly respects the integrity — and swiftness — in reacting to what was a breaking story for the world," Harada said. "So thanks to all, up and down the ladder, for providing the space, the coverage, the time and the energy."

Mostly, thanks to Wayne Harada for helping to give a Hawai'i legend a fitting send-off.